


[No] Vacancy

by TheWeaverofWorlds



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, M/M, Oblivious Bucky Barnes, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Pre-Relationship, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:28:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWeaverofWorlds/pseuds/TheWeaverofWorlds
Summary: Steve and Bucky are road tripping out west for their summer job, but the motel they stay at is out of doubles. Looks like they're sharing a bed. But that's fine cause they're best friends, and nothing would change that. Right?
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	[No] Vacancy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [albertpops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/albertpops/gifts).



> CV  
> Happy Birthday.

A burgeoning summer lay ahead of them, full of infinite possibilities, like the horizon stretched before them limitless and unending. And who would say otherwise? They were two young men in the height of their health and looks, minds quick, bodies firm; age hadn’t betrayed them yet. It would be a glorious summer. Bucky could feel the sunlight streaming through the passenger side window of the old van seeping into his very bones. Blinking to adjust from staring toward the fading sun he turned to look at his best friend behind the wheel. The light gave Steve a burnished, warm glow, like he had swallowed a bit of the sun. Bucky knew it was a trick of the light, what some people called Golden Hour, but he was still shocked at how good Steve looked. 

Steve was smirking as he sung along to Springsteen, and behind his aviators his eyes burned bright. He turned to look at Bucky, lips quirking in an unasked question before turning back to the road. Bucky shook his head, cranked up the old radio and began to sing along.

They were headed out to Camp Lehigh, where they would spend their summer as camp counselors. They only knew each other; it would be just the two of them against the world. Bucky smiled at the prospect. They had both attended Camp Lehigh when they were kids, before Steve’s mother, Sarah, had died. Steve had been placed in the system and managed to stay in Brooklyn, but his new family hadn’t had enough money to send Steve the following year. Bucky refused to leave Steve behind. Instead he stayed in Brooklyn that summer; the two boys spending their days trying desperately to stay cool. It was the summer the became inseparable. Even though they had attended different colleges they still managed to spend every summer together.

Steve had been the one to find out that Camp Lehigh was looking for counselors this year and had talked Bucky into applying with him. Steve was a shoe in, obviously. They had liked that he wanted to work with kids, and was currently getting a degree to become an art teacher. It was Bucky that was the wild card, but he didn’t want to break tradition nor did he want Steve to feel obligated to stay in Brooklyn for the summer. So he had done everything possible to charm Camp Lehigh, and by some miracle they had accepted him too. They liked that he was already certified as a Lifeguard (AED training, CPR, and First Aid) from a year ago, and they found him charming, and a good role model – despite what he believed about himself. Now, just days after summer vacation started, the two young men had packed up Steve’s beat up van and were driving out west. They had already been on the road for several days, had stayed in several dubious motels, but at last they were close. Within the next day they would reach Camp Lehigh and begin pre-season training.

Outside the car, the dusty terrain, which had been their companion for so many miles, flew by before gradually ceding to the rocky landscape of the Teton Mountain range. The sun continued to set, and soon the stars came out in droves. They had stopped singing a few hours ago, but even so their voices were scratchy from use. Instead they talked quietly, trying to keep one another entertained. Night had fallen, and as the hours passed fewer and fewer cars were seen on the road.

“It’s getting late, we should probably find a place to spend the night,” Bucky admitted, eyes flitting to the glowing numbers on the clock. 12:04.

Steve suppressed a yawn, but was inclined to agree. Up ahead they saw the flickering neon lights of a motel whose sign proclaimed that there were vacancies.

Steve parked the car, turning off the headlights, and led the way into the cool air conditioned room. The bell over the door rang and a tired older woman looked up at them. “What can I do ya for, darlin’?”

“We’ll take a room,” Steve said, leaning against the counter.

“We’re outta doubles,” the woman admitted, eyes flitting suspiciously between the two of them.

Before Bucky could say anything Steve replied, “a single will be fine.”

The woman raised an eyebrow, but took their information down before handing them a key. “Room Seven, upstairs to the left.”

Steve thanked her, before leading them out into the warm night air.

“You know we could have sprung for two rooms, I would have paid for both,” Bucky said.

Steve looked over his shoulder, “why would we do that? We’ve been best friends for years, Buck, it’s not like I haven’t seen you in your underwear before.”

Bucky laughed. “Sure, whatever.”

They grabbed overnight duffel bags from the car before heading to their room. The air conditioning was blasting, a stark difference from outside which had still retained the heat of the day, and the single fluorescent light cast a sickly almost green hue to the room. By the door was a couch that had seen better days, and in the opposite corner was a beat up dresser and the door to the bathroom. The main feature of the room was a queen sized bed which took up most of the floor space. Bucky looked at Steve and noticed apprehension in his eyes.

“I can take the couch,” Bucky offered.

Steve laughed and rolled his eyes, whatever look had been there was now gone, “dude, c’mon.”

Bucky laughed. “Right.”

It had been a ridiculous suggestion. They were best friends after all, they could certainly share a bed for one night. Bucky tried to ignore the part of him that was questioning why Steve had looked so… scared… there was no other word for it. He supposed Steve might have been thinking about how this was the first time he’d shared a bed, but that was ridiculous. There was no way someone who looked like Steve could still be a virgin. Bucky tried to dismiss the thought as soon as it had come, but some part of him was wondering what Steve would be like in bed.

The door to the bathroom clicked shut, and Bucky realized he was alone. Hastily he began to change, willing his thoughts away from where they had been. After Steve came out of the small bathroom, Bucky went in to finish his own toiletries. When he came out he found Steve curled up in bed, his back toward him.

“You ready for me to turn of the light?” Steve asked softly craning his neck to look over at Bucky.

“Yeah, sure.” Bucky was taken aback by how domestic the whole thing felt, even if they were in a sleazy motel room. He did his best to dismiss the thought as he got in his side of the bed. He rolled onto his side so his back was facing Steve. Even with the lights off there was still a neon wash from the motel’s sign. No Vacancy.

* * *

The next morning Bucky woke up first. In his sleep he had shifted and was now on his side facing Steve. The other man was curled up, as if trying to take up as little room as possible. Bucky knew that while Steve had been in the system he had had some run-ins with families that were over capacity but took him for the extra money. Steve had had to share beds with a lot of other kids, and this must be a result of that. It would have been around the time of his growth spurt too. Sarah had always worried that Steve’s asthma would keep him small. Bucky thought it was terrible that she never would have those fears allayed. In his sleep, Steve looked at peace as if nothing could bother him. He looked younger. Bucky sighed before giving Steve’s shoulder a good push, “alright, time to get up.”

Steve tensed as he tried to remember where he was, upon seeing Bucky he relaxed. 

“Is it morning already?” His voice was rough from sleep.

Bucky laughed as he moved to pull his jeans on. “Sorry, Sleeping Beauty. I can drive for a bit if you need.”

Steve groaned. “What I need is coffee.”

Bucky laughed again as he began to reach for his shirt. Steve threw a pillow at him.

“Oh we’re playing this game are we?” Bucky said. 

Immediately he dropped his shirt where it was and picked up the pillow and threw it with deadly accuracy. It hit Steve in the face distracting him long enough that he didn’t see Bucky jump toward the bed, tackling him. Steve made an undignified squeak as Bucky straddled him and reached for his pillow to hit Steve again. That’s when his brain registered that there was something hard pressing against his thigh and it only took a moment to realize what it was. Silence fell.

Steve shoved him off, face reddening, grabbed his clothes and went to get changed. Bucky sank into the bed. He knew it was common enough for guys to get morning wood, hell he’d seen it with guys who he had spent the night with, but he had never expected to feel it on his best friend. Mindlessly he leaned over the end of the bed and pulled on his shirt.

The door to the bathroom opened and Steve came out as if nothing had happened. “Coffee?”

Bucky nodded grateful for how easy things were between them, but a part of him wanted to talk about it, wanted to know how Steve felt. He wasn’t sure what it was exactly, but something told him that this was going to be a long summer.

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally the beginning to a longer fic I was going to write for albertpops in the summer of 2019, but I never got around to finishing it. But today is their birthday, and since we can't celebrate together right now I thought I would publish something I had written for them instead. They've never seen this, and besides a little editing most of it remains unchanged.  
> I hope you enjoyed it, please feel free to leave a comment below telling me what you think.  
> YRS.  
> Weaver


End file.
